Name: Wildfire in Montana, August 1 to 30, 2003
Start: 2003-08-01T00:00
End: 2003-08-30T00:00
Location: Montana

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MSO wrote it up.

The combination of hot and dry conditions along with dry lightning and wind events, led to widespread wildfires in western Montana. 750,000 acres burned in western Montana forests in August with 46 structures lost. The Wedge Fire in northern Flathead County, burned 35 homes, while the Black Mountain 2 fire west of Missoula, burned 5 homes.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Missoula, MT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 31, 8:05 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 31, 8:05 PM MST, 3 hours 55 minutes before

WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO FORECAST DISCUSSION.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
905 PM MDT THU JUL 31 2003

CORRECTED TO CANCEL FIRE WEATHER WATCH

.SHORT TERM...UPDATE TO ZONES AND STATE THIS EVENING. ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS ALONG THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE DIVIDE THIS AFTERNOON
AND EVENING. WEAK SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN MONTANA AND ONCE
IT IS OVER THE DIVIDE (BY 10 PM) THE THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BE PUSHED
OVER THE DIVIDE AND SUBSIDE. STRONG OUTFLOW FROM THESE STORMS HAVE
CREATED POOR VISIBILITIES IN THE KALISPELL AREA FROM SURROUNDING
FIRES. THESE POOR VISIBILITIES WILL REMAIN FOR THE NIGHT AS
INVERSIONS SET UP. ALSO EXPECTING SOME BRIEF GUSTY EAST WINDS IN
MISSOULA SOON AS A BOUNDARY IS MOVING THROUGH...AS IS EVIDENT ON
RADAR. TONIGHTS UPDATE IS TO ADJUST SKY COVER AND WEATHER WORDING.
WILL ALSO BE CANCELING THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH AND WARNINGS.
KOCH

.LONG TERM...MODELS CONSISTENT WITH A SOUTHWEST FLOW DOMINATING THE
PATTERN THROUGH THE EXTENDED AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH DIGS IN OFF THE
WEST COAST. THIS FLOW WILL USHER IN SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE AND MAKE FOR
A WETTER COOLER PERIOD...WITH TEMPERATURES NEAR NORMAL. GILCHRIST

.MSO...NONE

...7-DAY SPOT TEMPS AND POPS...
LIB UBB 051/104 051/097 055/092 38000012
     BBBB 051/090 052/090 052/088 052/087 3322233212
FCA UBB 053/097 051/093 055/085 38000112
     BBBB 052/084 053/085 053/083 052/082 3322233212
POL UBB 060/098 060/094 062/086 38000112
     BBBB 058/085 059/084 059/082 059/081 3322233212
MSO UBB 054/100 054/096 057/088 38000222
     BBBB 053/087 054/087 054/085 054/084 3323333212
HMM UBB 055/101 055/097 058/089 38000222
     BBBB 054/088 055/087 055/084 054/083 3323333212
BTM BBB 051/095 053/094 056/088 38000223
     BBBB 052/088 053/085 053/082 052/081 3333333222
ORO GBB 061/106 061/102 062/095 38000222
     BBBB 058/096 059/093 059/091 059/090 3322222212
GRV UBB 061/096 061/095 062/089 38001222
     BBBB 058/090 059/088 059/085 058/084 3323333212
SMN UBB 053/098 053/095 056/092 38011223
     BBBB 053/092 054/088 054/085 053/084 3333333212

Hazardous weather outlook, Jul 31, 9:00 PM MST, 3 hours before

MTZ001>007-043-IDZ005>010-011200-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MISSOULA MT
1000 PM MDT THU JUL 31 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN MONTANA AND NORTH
CENTRAL IDAHO

.DAY ONE... TONIGHT

ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AND GUSTY WINDS HAVE DIED DOWN ACROSS WESTERN
MONTANA TONIGHT. THEREFORE THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH AND RED FLAG
WARNINGS HAVE BEEN CANCELED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Flathead

When: August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 30, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Flathead County, Countywide
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 48.295, -114.050 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Missoula

When: August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 30, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Missoula County, Countywide
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 47.037, -113.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Mineral

When: August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 30, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Mineral County, 20 mi SE of Superior
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 47.147, -114.998 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Sanders

When: August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 30, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Sanders County, 10 mi SE of Thompson Falls
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 47.675, -115.133 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Ravalli

When: August 1, 12:00 AM MST to August 30, 12:00 AM MST
Where: Ravalli County, Countywide
Reported by: PARK/FOREST SERVICE
Coordinates: 46.082, -114.121 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Montana in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Montana, August 2003

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5332856, 5332908, 5332909, 5332910, 5332911.